No Iran-US negotiations other than on nuclear issue: Qasemi

Iran has rejected recent claims by CIA Director John Brennan about ongoing talks between Iran and the United States on various subjects, saying Tehran and Washington are holding negotiations on the nuclear issue only.

“Except nuclear topics, no other negotiations have been and will be held between Iran and the US,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Qasemi, said on Monday.

Speaking in a presentation Friday at the Aspen Security Forum, Brennan responded to a question about the trend of relations between Tehran and Washington and said, “In the tenor of relationship, there is still a lot of discussion going on between the US government and Iranian government on a number of outstanding issues to include how the international financial system is going to be able to now react to an Iran that is less encumbered by sanctions. So, there is dialogue.”

Qasemi also said the CIA director is in no place to make baseless comments about Iran’s internal issues.

Brennan had also claimed that there are “tensions” within the Iranian government, adding, “There is tension between hardliners and moderates within the Iranian government.”

“Such remarks by US officials are aimed at [starting] psychological operations in order to create discord and bipolarization in the Iranian society which we regard as rejected and condemnable,” Qasemi added.

He said integrity, unity and solidarity among the Iranian nation and government are exemplary in the region and the world.

The spokesperson emphasized that the Iranian people are vigilant and have repeatedly reacted to such irrelevant remarks which are made with “calculated and suspect” objectives.

Qasemi said the Iranian nation will support national goals, ideas and safeguard its interests regardless of Western intelligence services’ fabricated categorizations.